Artful Life By Cathy: Art Consultant Betsy Lane Talks About Relationships with Clients and Artists

Monday, September 29, 2014

Art Consultant Betsy Lane Talks About Relationships with Clients and Artists

Interview with Betsy Lane, Art Consultant

September 26, 2014

article by Cathy Breslaw

Betsy Lane was introduced to art while growing up in Denver. Her mother took her to galleries and museums but her first personal experience making art was as a young adult and she became fascinated by glass blowing. Lane got a job at a glass crafts store where she expanded her knowledge of business, selling and glass blowing and where she met and married the owner, John Swann. After selling his retail business, Lane and Swann travelled the United States selling glass figurines, commercial blown glass, glass jewelry and other craft items to stores. The couple landed in San Diego because as Lane describes it, they liked the weather and the city. After settling in San Diego, they opened Clear Horizons, an art glass store, in Seaport Village. After ten years, Lane opened Lane Gallery in Horton Plaza where her items expanded from solely carrying art glass to providing all kinds of art. After nine years there, she began her consulting business after opening the Sculpture Garden in Del Mar. The Sculpture Garden had both an indoor and outdoor space and Lane began adding various types of both small and large sculpture. Lane began her consulting business by providing sculpture and other kinds of art to the Parisi Hotel, the Beckman Clinic which is part of Scripps and Barona Casino. She began developing relationships with architects, designers and real estate developers. Lane points out that rather than going to work for other art consultant businesses in San Diego, she felt compelled to have her own business. The business is a team effort - Betsy handles all the sales and marketing and works with both artists and clients, and John handles the accounting and operations side to the business.

Lane talks a lot about her approach to working with artists and clients. Her easy-going manner and personality prevails over any business challenges. She encourages clients to ‘live’ with a piece of art prior to buying it and sees herself as representing both the client and the artist. She doesn’t charge the client and earns her money by sharing a percentage of the art sold. Lane emphasizes her willingness to identify the client’s budget, understanding their personal taste in art and seeks to provide her clients with art they love and will sometimes take clients to artist studios. She regularly combs the internet to expand her stable of artists. In taking on any project, she analyzes the entire project space, taking into consideration the size and layout of the space, and what kinds of art are most appropriate. Lane says her client’s companies are an eclectic mix of primarily healthcare, hospitality and real estate. Among others, she is currently working with Hirsch Bedner Associates, the largest hospitality design firm in the world, Garden Communities which builds apartment complexes around the U.S. and Res Med which is a large national supplier of medical products – all three companies are based in San Diego.

Lane believes her art consulting business is a ‘personal’ one – she attributes having good taste in art, persistence and treating both clients and artists well to the success of her business. Lane generously provided me with a tour of some of the art installations both inside the offices of Garden Communities and outdoor sculptures in La Jolla. The photos provided here are some examples of the work that Lane has done. For more information you can contact Betsy Lane at: betsylane1@sbcglobal.net ,

619-997-7491 and at www.betsylaneart.com Artists interested in working with Betsy Lane are invited to email her.